The Birtle Indian Residential School operated in Birtle, Manitoba from 1888 to 1970. It was run by the Presbyterian Church in Canada and had anywhere from 19 to 170 students.
The school focused on farming and vocational skills development with half of the school day dedicated to related training. Male students were required to take on farming and construction work, while female students were assigned domestic duties like cleaning, cooking, and sewing.
The school had many issues ranging from long work days for the students, water quality, lack of hot water, and building structural issues. Many issues were never resolved due to lack of funding or approval.
In 2015 the school was sold to private buyers. The buyers did not realize it was a residential school when they purchased it. We know that a cleanup was started and there were plans to restore but this stalled out. The building was one of three residential buildings still standing in Manitoba and was one of fourteen residential school sites in Manitoba.
The images below are from our exploration in 2010.
